


Love Creeps Up On You

by rainbowfire96



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-08 19:14:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10394196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowfire96/pseuds/rainbowfire96
Summary: "Love doesn't happen in an instant. It creeps up on you and then it turns your life upside down. It colors your waking moments, and fills your dreams. You begin to walk on air and see life in brilliant new shades. But it also brings with it a sweet agony, a delicious torture." Series of one shots, not necessarily in chronological order.





	1. The James Potter Fan Club

*Scratch scratch*

Lily Evans sighed quietly to herself. This was the 10th time she had crossed out the exact same sentence. There was a deep impression in the parchment where her quill had run over the sentence again and again. However, she could hardly be blamed. She had come to the library with the full intention of writing her charms essay in peace. What she hadn't counted on was that there were other people in the library as well. Namely, a rather giggly group of fellow 7th year girls.

Lily rolled her eyes. Of course. They had reverted back to their favourite topic. James Potter. It was amazing how deep their infatuation was. They managed to successfully praise everything he did. Lily was lucky to find one nice thing to say about him. Although that isn't necessarily true anymore, she thought to herself. Somehow the summer between 6th and 7th year had completely changed him. He had suddenly become more mature, sweet and caring. Not to mention he somehow made Head Boy! Maybe, a small voice said in her head, maybe he was always like that and you just didn't want to see it. Lily shook her head attempting to clear her head of these thoughts. There was no possible way she could have misjudged Potter. James, she amended, you agreed to call him James. After finding out that they would have to share a dorm together, they had decided to establish a rocky friendship. He agreed to stop asking her out, and in turn, she agreed to call him by his first name. It was a shock really, how quickly and easily he had agreed to give her up. He did it small smile and a nod saying he had already decided over the summer not to ask her out this year. In fact… Lily thought he had given up TOO easily. She was still perplexed by the hurt she was feeling over the matter. Shouldn't she be glad he had given her up? But she couldn't help but secretly wonder what she had done wrong. After 6 years of continuously chasing her, flirting with her, and mostly embarrassing her, he suddenly just gave up? There had to be a reason.

CHARMS LILY, FOCUS ON CHARMS, she mentally chided herself. She went back to her essay trying once again to write out her sentence. Suddenly she heard a loud shriek, causing her to jump out of her chair and drag her quill across the word she had been writing. Cursing and crossing out her sentence for the 11th time, Lily lifted her head to glare at the girls. She started once she heard them mention her name.

She leaned in closer trying to hear what the girls were busy shrieking about.

" She has James following her around everywhere and doing the most romantic things for her and she still won't give him a chance!"

" I don't understand it. Why is James so set on that stuck up, self righteous, insufferable know it all. I will never know what he sees in her."

"Why can't James see he would have a much better chance with one of us. I mean we would LOVE to go out with him. And we wouldn't embarrass him with a public and immature rejection."

" I say we have a chat with a certain Mr. Potter and let him know EXACTLY what he is missing by chasing after someone like that."

Lily looked at the girls incredulously. They sat with their back to her and they had yet to notice her gaping at them. However she let out a small giggle at the thought of this "chat." James would LOVE that. Her smile turned mischievous as she thought of a way to get back at them for their rude comments abut her. Lily quickly rummaged through her bag for a spare piece of parchment and immediately started writing. She packed up her bags and waved her wand, charming the parchment to float neatly to their table. She began walking away when she realized she definitely wouldn't want to miss their reaction. Instead she turned the corner and hid behind a large stack of books watching the parchment lazily drift down to the table. One of the girls picked up the parchment and began reading it aloud to her friends.

" So, do you have anything else you would like to say about the stuck up, self righteous, insufferable know it all?"

-Love Lily

They reaction was instantaneous. The girls immediately began looking around fearfully for a glint of red hair and piercing green eyes. Lily Evans was notorious for her temper. It was frighteningly quick to flare and never easy to calm down.

Lily covered her mouth with her hands as her body silently shook with laughter. She abruptly froze when she suddenly felt a presence behind her. Her eyes wide, she turned slowly, though she was fairly sure she already knew who it was.

" Lilyflower you never cease to amaze me."

She finally completed her turn and looked up, as hazel eyes locked with the green.

" Nice to see you too James."


	2. Hesitation

He smiled at her, the special smile he reserved just for her. It wasn't his trademark smirk or a grin. Rather something more open, honest, and far more vulnerable. For some reason Lily felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of it. She couldn't understand her emotions around him. They were always wild and always changing. Her life would be so much easier if she was able to just stick to hating him. Then she wouldn't have those ridiculous moments where her heart almost gave out at the sight of him.

" What exactly do you want?" she said a bit harshly, trying to calm her hearts unwanted reaction towards his smile.

His smile faltered ever so slightly. Lily felt a sharp pang go through her at the thought. SHE was the cause of his unhappiness. Why do I care! She asked herself furiously.

" I just wanted to tell you I found your prank amusing," he said running his hand through his hair in that annoying yet endearing manner of his.

"Oh. Thank you? I suppose."

She found herself noticing James like she never had before. It was unnatural. Did he always have such hazel eyes, Lily thought to herself. She gave her head a slight shake to clear her thoughts. Being cordial towards James was much harder than she thought it would be. And it was a strange feeling. They were used to a passionate burst of emotion around one another, not a calm civil conversation.

" I am so relieved. I thought for a minute that you were going to-"

"So Lily, would you like to go out with me?"

The smile was back. Along with the slightly endearing habit of running his hand through his hair. A combination of the two plus the pleading look in his eyes made Lily hesitate. But for only a second.

" Potter I thought we agreed NO MORE ASKING."

This time the smile slid from his face completely. In fact, he looked horrified.

"I am so sorry Evans. I completely forgot. Guess it's a habit by now. I promise it wont happen again," he said with the horrified look still etched on his face. He turned and walked away, head bent and with his hands in the pockets.

For the first time in her life, she felt bad for him. And the scariest part of that conversation was the small part of her that was dying to say yes. Would it really be that bad to say yes to that smile, those eyes, say yes to James Potter? Thank goodness he won't ask again, Lily said to herself, relieved. There was the small yet extremely terrifying possibility that if he asked again…she might just say yes.


	3. To Trust a Marauder

Lily walked quietly through the halls of Hogwarts trying to make her way to her Transfiguration class. Walking through Hogwarts was never an easy task but Lily had never realized just how hard it was. Over the years she would always have James and the marauders walk through the halls before her and announce that Lily Evans had arrived and would everyone please move to the side so she may pass through. Of course, at the time she was rather inclined to call James a prat and yell at him for being so rude and inconsiderate of other people also trying to get to class. Looking back on it, it seemed rather sweet. And until today, she never realized how much easier it made her life. For the first time in all of Hogwarts history, Lily was going to be late to class. Transfiguration class. As an unspoken rule you should NEVER be late to one of professor Mcgonagall's classes. But Lily was still stuck near Defense against Dark Arts, about two floors down from where she needed to be in about 5 minutes.

"I almost wish"-, Lily caught herself before she could finish that sentence. She should not be missing or needing James. She was an independent witch. She could manage herself. WITHOUT James' help. Besides she hadn't spoken to James since that miserable day in the library. For some reason, Lily felt a huge amount of guilt over cutting James down like that. And she felt even worse when she thought about the horrified look that had crossed his face before he left. She should be glad he wasn't going to ever ask her out again! But all she felt was sadness at the thought.

"Hey Evans!"

Lily turned around to what suspiciously sounded like Blacks voice

"Black shouldn't you be heading to Transfiguration. Which we have in about 5 minutes or so!"

"Just thought you could use a hand Lilyflower."

" And why would you think that?"

" As you said, we have Transfiguration in about 5 minutes. And even I'm not stupid enough to be late to one of Minnie's classes."

Lily groaned. Black made a very good point.

"How do you plan on getting two floors up in only three minute Black? Even the marauders aren't THAT amazing."

"You wound me Lilyflower! How could you doubt the amazing abilities of us marauders? James sends me to help you and instead you insult us Evans! It's hardly a fair exchange. But for the sake of Prongs I will still attempt to help you despite the grievous insult."

Sirius glanced at his watch.

"Now we have about two minutes before we become cat food Lilyflower. So do you trust us marauders to get you to class, or would you rather have Minnie bite your head off."

Lily thought about it for a moment. She really had no options left. There was no way she could make it two floors up with only two minutes left to spare.

" Lead the way Black. And do it quickly!"

Sirius led her behind a tapestry and took out his wand. He muttered a phrase under his breath, which Lily leaned in close to hear. Sirius turned around and saw her try to quickly draw back and look nonchalant.

" Sorry Lilyflower. Marauders' secret. "

Lily huffed and glared at Black. This only seemed to amuse him further. He pulled Lily into the passage that had opened up and they sprinted down the hall. Bursting out of the tapestry right next to Transfiguration, they ran into the classroom. They both found their respective seats, panting hard, just as the bell rang. Alice Griffiths, ones of Lily's close friends, gave Lily a look. She sighed, knowing exactly what Alice was wondering about and mouthed, "Ill tell you later." Alice still looked suspicious but turned her head back to the front of the classroom where a stern looking Mcgonagall was currently standing.

"Mr. Black, Ms. Evans, don't think I didn't notice how close you both came to being late. Hopefully this will be a lesson to you, and you both will know to be a bit earlier to class next time. "

With that she turned around and began her lesson on transfiguring large animals. Lily looked over towards James and Sirius and noticed James giving her a small smile. She returned it and ducked behind her hair, starting to copy the notes. Perhaps, Lily smiled to herself; James and the marauders weren't so bad after all.


	4. Muggle Fairytales

Lily sat by the fire in the heads common room reading one of her favorite Muggle fairytales. As cliché as Cinderella seemed it would be nice for something like that to happen to her in real life. She found herself imaging herself as Cinderella, but she couldn't decide who should be her Prince Charming. Amos Diggory perhaps? He was one of the best-looking boys in school. But somehow, he didn't seem to fit in her fairytale. She shuddered as her mind jumped to Black. There was no denying he was one of the best-looking boys in school. But there was NO WAY that Black of all people was her Prince charming. She would rather have the giant squid as her Prince charming.

"Hello Lily," said a voice next to her ear. Lily jumped then stiffened. Even though they were now friends Lily couldn't help the immediate reaction she had to his voice.

"What do you want James," she asked not removing her eyes from the book.

He grinned at her and took the place next to her on the couch leaning in. Lily's heart was once again beating erratically, as it had been every time she saw him since the beginning of the year. She held her breath as he leaned in close. A bit closer and she would practically be kissing the boy. For some reason, she felt a shiver go through her at the thought. Perhaps she should visit St. Mungos. She was obviously suffering from insanity. Or maybe Potter had cast some spell on her. That was also a distinct possibility. She looked up to meet Potter's gaze but found him looking at the book instead. He began to read intently, flipping through the pages, while Lily just gaped at him. Potter. Reading Muggle fairytales. Potter.

"I can see why you like these. The ending was rather nice. The guy finally gets the girl and the girl gets to live a happily ever after."

" I always wanted this to happen to me," I sighed not realizing exactly who I was saying it to.

James took my hands in his and pulled me up.

"James! What are you…"

"May I have this dance?"

"What are you going on about?" she asked, confused.

James began to waltz with her, turning in small circles and smiling at her. She finally understood. He was acting out the fairytale. And he was her Prince Charming. Lily could feel sparks on her skin where he was touching her. At the end of the dance he leaned in and whispered, " The ending is entirely up to you Lily."

With that he walked away with his hands in his pockets, making his way up the stairs to the Head Boy dorm. Lily sank back into the couch trying to understand what had just happened. Definitely going to St. Mangoes, she thought to herself as the remembered the sparks on her skin. She picked up her book once again opened it up to the ballroom scene. She once again tried to imagine herself as Cinderella with a gorgeous gown and sparkling shoes. However this time, instead of Amos Diggory or Black she tried imagining the messy haired, hazel eyed James Potter as her Prince Charming. She felt a warmth go through her at the thought. For some strange reason James fit perfectly as her Prince Charming. And for some reason, Lily found that she didn't really mind.


	5. Passing Glances

It was the perfect Hogsmeade day. Snow was on the ground and was lightly falling from the sky. All around people were smiling and laughing, including Lily Evans. However, if you looked close enough you could see that her smile didn't reach her eyes. Her smiles and her laughs looked and sounded forced.

Lily laughed again at another one of Mary's jokes, though her mind was elsewhere. She was completely miserable but she couldn't bear to ruin the mood on such a lovely Hogsmeade day like this. And it's all Potters fault, she thought to herself sadly. This was probably the first time that she wasn't fuming over something that he had done. Instead she felt rather depressed. Why was it, when she finally realized she was in love with him he had to give up on her? She regretted telling him not to ask her out anymore. Now she felt unsure if he even liked her anymore. Hw was cordial and polite but he never gave her that special smile like he used to, or made any grand romantic gestures. She glanced quickly to her left where Potter was standing only a few meters away, smiling at Emmeline Vance

Emmeline and Lily were usually very good friends, but right now she had never hated her more. She was sweet, caring, beautiful AND brilliant all in one. She and James would likely end up together forever, she though desperately. Suddenly she heard quiet giggles and James Potters wonderfully infectious laugh. She looked over to see James bowing down to Emmeline holding the door open to the Three Broomsticks, with a huge pile of snow on his head. He shook his head making his unruly hair messier still and gave Emmeline a smile. Lily's smile. Lily felt her heart break a little bit more at the sight. James noticed her standing and watching them and for the briefest second of time hazel met green. It may have just been her imagination but she swore she law a look of longing in his eyes before he looked away. And her smile. He had given her the smile she knew and loved. She hadn't seen it in so long. For that one second she though she could see that James Potter still wanted her. And hopefully, for that one brief second, he could see that Lily Evans wanted him too.


	6. Fiery and Fierce

"POTTER!"

A loud shriek echoed through the Head dorm, alerting James to the fact that Lily might be a little mad at him. He sighed staring at the canopy of his four-poster bed. Why must everything be so difficult with Lily? It was somewhat hard to love a girl who sometimes made you wish like jumping off the astronomy tower. But somehow she still managed. There were times like these though….

" JAMES POTTER!"

He didn't know it was possible for Lily to get louder but apparently she managed. Removing his hands from behind his head, he made one final grab for the snitch floating in front of his head. Finally catching it, he pocketed it and prepared to face an angry Lily Evans. He walked out of his room and tentatively went down the stairs towards the shared common room. In front of the fire, looking slightly deranged, was Lily Evans. Even though she looked like she planned on murdering James and making it slow and painful, James still found her beautiful. The firelight behind her cast golden light onto her red shining hair, making it seems one with the fire itself. Her eyes were cold, hard, and as unforgiving as emeralds. He had the same fascination for them as any other man did for those cold gems. Even when she was angry with him she still looked fiery and alive, and he so desperately wanted to kiss her.

"James. Potter. Where is my book."?

Lily said this in a calm, yet deadly voice, betraying the true depth of her anger.

"What book Lily dearest?" said James with a crooked grin attempting to disarm her. And failing.

"My muggle fairytale book. Where IS IT." She screamed her calm demeanor finally breaking.

" Now, now Lily why would I have it."

" YOU. JUST GIVE IT BACK TO ME JAMES POTTER. OR I MAY END UP IN AZKABAN FOR YOUR DEATH."

" Lilyflower maybe you just haven't looked for it properly," said James gently despite her yelling. " Look for it again tommorow after you've rested and calmed down a bit. It can't have left the Heads dorm."

Lily gave him one last hard glare and stormed up the stairs to her room. James winced at the sound of a door slamming.

Lily woke up the next morning feeling calm and refreshed. Suddenly the memories of the previous night came rushing back, as well as a burst of anger. She KNEW he had it! That arrogant toe-rag. He hid it from her most probably and wouldn't give it back. She got out of bed, throwing the covers off. Suddenly she heard a heavy thud. A thud that sounded heavy enough to belong to a book. She looked underneath the bed and saw the familiar cover of her fairytale book. She picked it up with a smile and hugged the book to her. She was going to KILL James for worrying her like that. She opened the book just to check that he hadn't done anything to it. Upon reaching the ballroom scene of Cinderella she stopped. There was a tiny note that said tap here, with an illustration of a wand. She cautiously took her wand and tapped the book. Suddenly, a glowing orb rose from the pages. Inside it were two miniature figures, dressed in fine clothing, dancing in an elegant ballroom. Soft music emanated from the orb. Lily stared at it in shock. Had James done this? The figures rotated slowly and an interesting detail caught Lily's eye. Cinderella's hair wasn't blonde. In fact it was red. A familiar shade of red. She looked closely and gasped, recognizing that Cinderella was her! And dancing with her, dressed like a prince was none other than James Potter. She looked back down at the note; shocked to see the writing had changed.

" Merry Early Christmas Lily! I'm sorry that I took your book from you, but I had to take it to work on this for you. I thought it would be a nice surprise. In reality I was supposed to keep it for a few more days so that I could do this for all the pages. And of course give it back to you on Christmas Day. But someone got a little impatient and upset. So I decided to give it back now. Hope you're not still mad at me.

Love, James"

Lily smiled and then suddenly let out a groan. She had a marauder to find.


	7. Let Them Eat Cake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time jump to a few of years in the future from fiery and fierce

Lily pulled her cake out of the oven humming one of the few Celestina Warbeck songs she knew. As she set it on the counter she couldn't help but look at it critically. It was a little lumpy looking and more than a little burnt but hopefully she could drown out the taste with frosting. Besides James would probably be so happy with the idea of a cake and the fact that she had baked it herself that he might not even notice that it was bordering on inedible.

Lily turned to Harry and held up the cake,

"What do you think? Do you think your father will like it or will he suspect that I'm trying to poison him?"

Harry let out a happy gurgle at the sound of his mother's voice. A very cute noise but an entirely unhelpful one. Lily set the cake back on the counter, her smile fading. She knew that she wasn't that bad at baking. She had baked before for Petunia and she thought that it had tasted pretty good despite the fact that no one actually had a chance to eat it. Petunia had taken one look and demanded to know what kind of magic she had used to make it. In reality she had just been incredibly lucky with her first baking attempt but Petunia's paranoia meant that she didn't believe a word her sister said about not being allowed to use magic outside of school. She instead had taken the cake and thrown it directly into the garbage and stormed off, ready to complain to her parents about how Lily was using magic. She could have used magic on James cake, Lily thought to herself. But unfortunately using magic to embellish to even make a cake required you to actually have the ingredients to do so.

They were running out of flour, eggs, butter and nearly everything else needed to make a cake. She had wanted to do it since her husband needed some cheering up, but if she was honest this wasn't the time. Neither of them had paying jobs, they weren't allowed to leave the house and they had an infant to look after. A little voice in her head told her she was being irresponsible, while another screamed that she was only 20 and deserved to do something irresponsible once in a while. She let out a laugh that turned to a choked sob as she took in the fact that making a cake was what was considered irresponsible in her life. She looked back at the cake and wished she could take it all back. Who knew when the order members would next be able to bring them any supplies and the ingredients she used could have maybe lasted for a few more days. She turned around to look back at Harry and allowed herself to smile just a little. Her baby deserved to know what life was like when you didn't have a mass murderer trying to kill you or you weren't under house arrest. Sure the cake might have been a pointless waste for her, but it would be well worth it to see James and Harry smile because of it.

The sound of floors creaking above her alerted her to the fact that her husband was now awake. Despite being 20 and having a child he had still yet to outgrow the habit of sleeping in as late as possible. Of course with nothing else to do he was at perfect liberty to sleep however long and whenever he liked. She tuned back to Harry's high chair and scooped him up into her arms to wait for James to come down the stairs. She heard the sound of feet bounding down the stairs and took in the sight of James turning the corner, his hair standing up straight and his glasses sitting crookedly on his face.

When she finally took in his expression, she paused as panic overtook her. James wasn't smiling. Instead he looked worried and his brow creased into a furrow that was abnormal on his usually happy face. But she supposed that his happy face was starting to become the abnormal one now.

"Marlene got hurt in the last raid," he said his mouth turning down into a worried frown, "Sirius is with her and he sent an animagus to say she's stable, but they're having a hard time treating her without going to St. Mungos"

Lily froze, Harry still squirming in her arms. Marlene was one of her best friends and she had no idea anything was even wrong with her. She had spent her morning making a cake for god's sake while her friend was hurt and needed her. Lily turned around to set Harry down so she could leave to go see her friend. Gently James took a hold of her arm,

"Lily… we can't leave."

Lily turned to look at him, tears in her eyes. This was the key detail she had forgotten. She slowly sat down in the chair and burrowed her face in her arms. James sat down next to her, his face gaunt and tired but hugging her tightly to him. He glanced around the kitchen, following the trail of flour and baking equipment to the small cake that sat on the counter. Oh Lily, he thought to himself sadly, glancing at her. Even he had forgotten today was his birthday, but he could always trust Lily to remember. He hugged her tighter to him. He whispered softly,

"Is that cake for me?"

Lily glanced up tears still running down her face and let out a quiet laugh, " Yes, but I can't guarantee you'll survive eating it."

James grinned at that and stood up to cut a large slice of it for himself.

"James!" Lily tried to protest, hurriedly getting up to stop him from actually eating that much of the cake. The cake might not kill him but she was sure that eating half of it in one go would definitely not be a pleasant experience. James took a large bite of his slice and smiled chewing it slowly.

"A little burned on the outside, but the actual cake itself is really good Lils."

Lily took a small bite out of her husband's cake and smiled. Their whole world was falling to pieces, and their life was hell, but she had to admit that her cake making skills were pretty good. Harry let out a whining noise and Lily tuned to feed him a small piece of the cake as well. She smiled, gently tapping him on the nose while he enthusiastically munched on the cake piece she had given him. Life was hard, but with James and Harry here to lighten her heart and hold it together she thought that just maybe, everything would be okay.


End file.
